S Bank’s owners did intend for the Glennville-based financial institution to one day have a presence in town, though.

They fulfilled that goal earlier this month with the opening of a loan production office downtown. A retail branch is to follow sometime next year.

“We bought the bank with the idea we’d have a branch and be headquartered here in Savannah,” said Michael Kistler, who headed a group of Savannah business leaders who bought a controlling interest in the bank in 2008. “That day is getting closer.”

The Savannah expansion is part of a series of changes for S Bank. The institution recently switched names, from First Citizens Bank to S Bank, and hired a new president and CEO, Robert Mays.

Additionally, the bank is on pace to show its first profitable year since the onset of the economic downturn. The earnings come on the heels of the bank raising additional capital while dumping a large portion of its distressed assets, including repossessed property, late last year.

“We feel like we’re in a sweet spot,” Mays said. “We have a ton of liquidity in a market that is underserved in terms of lending. We already have a full loan pipeline.”

S Bank is focusing on commercial loans but has the capability to handle mortgages and consumer loans, Mays said.

S Bank will remain committed to its legacy markets of Glennville, Reidsville and Hinesville as it expands in Savannah. The bank was founded in Glennville in 1943, and a descendent of one of the bank’s founders, Jeanie Anderson, remains on the board of directors.

Mays is the latest member to join the board. He comes to S Bank after two years heading Florida Business Bank in Melbourne, Fla. He and his wife are in the process of relocating to the area and plan to buy a home in Savannah in the near future.

As for what the S in S Bank stands for, there are many answers, said Kistler. The directors chose the letter for branding purposes — it can stand for anything from service to small business to simplistic.

“And yes, we can play off the S in Savannah too,” said Smith, the bank board’s vice chairman.

ABOUT S BANK

Founded in 1943 in Glennville as First Citizens Bank, the community bank has branches in Glennville, Reidsville and Hinesville and a loan production office in Savannah. A group of Savannah business leaders, led by Michael Kistler, bought a controlling interest in the bank in the summer of 2008. S Bank is on pace this year to post its first annual profit since 2007.